


Be an Example to Your Sex (Give Your Boots a Dapper Strap)

by kandilynn



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Magic!Stiles, Merlin-esque, Multi, fairytale AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-03
Updated: 2012-10-03
Packaged: 2017-11-15 14:06:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/528110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kandilynn/pseuds/kandilynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is a prince with a curse. If he doesn't find true love by his next birthday, his kingdom will be destroyed by dragon's fire. The originator of the curse is the evil sorceress, Kate, who lives in the dangerous and enchanted Argent Forest. Princess Lydia has been kidnapped by Count Peter the Undead, and Derek has been tasked with rescuing her and he's going to have to go through the Argent Forest to get to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be an Example to Your Sex (Give Your Boots a Dapper Strap)

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic is from "The Creation of Man" from The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I was listening to when I got the idea to write this fic.
> 
> When I was telling my brother the premise of this fic, he said it was like Merlin, which I have to agree.

“Good morning, Sour Prince!” Stiles drew the curtains back and let the light of the day shine in onto the bed. “It’s getting late. Your mother is waiting on you to meet the tailor to prepare your outfit for the ball.”  
  
Prince Derek groaned, “Tell mother I’m not going to the ball.” He turned away from the morning light. “It’s too early.”  
  
Stiles sighed. “I’m sorry, prince, you know how important it is to find someone to love you. There will be ladies to court.”  
  
Prince Derek had been cursed. After being seduced by the evil Sorceress Kate, Derek had scorned her, leaving her angry and ruthless. She had given him until his 20th birthday to find his true love, something that his unfortunate personality was making difficult. If his love wasn’t reciprocated by then, the Hale Castle would be destroyed by dragon’s fire. But that wasn’t the only part of the curse. If it was only that, then maybe he would stand some kind of chance, but she also cursed his entire family and the knights. Now, they are all part wolf, the rage and ferocity just under the surface, and on full moon nights they cannot control the shift that gives them fangs and claws. They also got enhanced senses, and increased speed and reflexes. Stiles thought that all in all it wasn’t the worst curse ever. But Derek’s true love had to love both parts of him, wolf and human.  
  
The King and Queen had started with every noble woman in the kingdom. The ones that were power hungry enough to put up with Derek’s sparkling personality ran away screaming when he turned into a wolf. The women had been sworn to secrecy, yet rumors still surfaced. It was only one year until his 20th birthday, and the Queen was getting desperate. She threw lavish galas almost every week, inviting every unmarried noble and royal from every kingdom in the land. This ball was an especially hopeful occasion, the King of Martin sent word that his daughter, Lydia would be attending the next ball.  
  
The Martin Kingdom was on the other side of the Argent Forest. The forest bordered the Hale castle on the east side, stretching from one end of the kingdom to the other. It was dark and enchanted, and ruled by the evil sorceress Kate. Before the curse, when the Argent Forest had still been traversable, the Martin’s and the Hale’s were friends. Now, the only purpose the Argent Forest held was for the knights to prove their mettle by completing quests in the massive dark forest given to them by Quartermaster Finstock, who trained and supplied the knights.  
  
Stiles sighed and sat on the edge of the prince’s bed. Sometimes his job was difficult, especially being a manservant  to a sour prince like Derek. But, mostly, he didn’t understand why the prince had so much difficulty finding a mate. Sure he was difficult and surly and broody. And yes, he occasionally changed into a big wolf, with fangs and claws. But for all his shape-shifting and antisocial behavior he had never actually hurt anyone, and that should count for something. Also, he was gorgeous, with eyes that weren’t sure which color to be sometimes. Sometimes, when Derek was busy and not paying attention, Stiles tried to count and name all of the different colors he could find there. “Shall I draw you a bath?”  
  
Derek growled. “No! Go away, Stiles.” But Stiles did not go away, if Stiles was said to be anything it was persistent.  
  
“Prince Derek!” Stiles scolded, “You need to get up. Besides, the knights are practicing in the courtyard. I know how you enjoy bossing them around.”  
  
“Shut up, Stiles or I’ll impale you...with my lance.”  
  
Stiles grinned, “Careful, Prince. I might enjoy that. But, as a commoner, your Queen Mother would throw me into the deepest dungeon for my crimes.” Stiles knew he shouldn’t have said that, it was completely unprofessional. He quickly bit his tongue before he said something else that would potentially make the prince angry.  
  
Prince Derek scowled and pushed Stiles off the bed to the floor. “I didn’t mean it that way, Stiles!”  
  
Stiles glared at the prince from the floor, “OW! I didn’t mean to offend you. Of course, you didn’t mean it, your highness.”  
  
“Just go draw me a bath, please, you are wasting my time. I wouldn’t want to keep my mother waiting.” When Stiles left the room, frowning, Derek sighed. He hadn’t meant to upset the manservant. But the curse that made him a wolf also increased his more...carnal desires. And for Stiles to make a statement like that, smelling as he did. Well, pushing him away was the safer option.  
  
But Stiles had called him ‘your highness’ which he only did when he was upset. Derek hated hearing it coming from Stiles’ mouth. It was too formal, stressing the differences between their social status’, which Derek didn’t care about, at all. And Stiles usually didn’t care either, in fact, sometimes Stiles was the only person to be honest with Derek, and didn’t let his title intimidate him.  
  
*****  
  
Princess Laura walked through the courtyard with her handmaiden Erica watching the knights practice their swordplay. She liked to imagine that she was the head of the army in her brother’s position. ‘Nice form, Sir Boyd,’ she would say. ’Sir Isaac, you’re control is improving. Nice Work!’ And they would all admire her for her talent with a sword. Sir Jackson would say something arrogant and she would challenge him. She would easily subdue him with her sword and earn his respect. She was pulled from her fantasies by the voice of her handmaiden.  
  
“I hear Sir Boyd has a rather impressive sword. I’d like to show him where he could sheath it.” Erica mused.  
  
“Erica, stop being so crass!” The princess chastised, but she was smiling.  
  
“No, really. I want to polish his shaft, give it the old spit shine.” Erica replied. Princess Laura laughed. The prince was the only one missing from the courtyard. He should be out here training with them, preparing his army should they need to go to battle. Laura thought it was a mistake for her father to have given the responsibility to her twin. If Derek failed at breaking the curse, war would be inevitable. And the would-be soldiers needed to be prepared along with their prince.  
  
Sir Scott was watching a wood nymph in the Argent Forest and ran directly into the wall. The nymph gave a tinkling of laughter and bounded off through the trees. The nymph was beautiful, but incredibly dangerous. Everything in the Argent Forest was.  
  
“Get it together, McCall! Or, since you are SO interested in the Argent Forest, I could send you out there on a quest!” Quartermaster Finstock shouted. Scott shook his head. Sure, the nymph was beautiful, but anyone would be crazy to want to head off into the Argent Forest alone.  
  
Laura frowned. “I suppose I should go help mother prepare for the ball.” Erica nodded sympathetically. It was Laura’s responsibility as princess to learn how to do these things. Throw a ball, manage the staff, proper princess stuff. But she hated it.  
  
****  
  
Their mother was in the vast drawing room, directing the tailor who was hemming the pant legs of a scowling Derek. “It needs to be more resplendent! More colors. We need to make him look impressive, and possibly charming, because as everyone knows, he can’t pull of charming by himself.” Stiles stifled laughter and Derek growled at him. “No growling, Derek! Your curse give you no right to behave like an animal!” The queen chastised.  
  
“Your highness, I supposed I could dangle down a spangle, out of sight?” The tailor answered.  
  
The queen nodded, once. “Excellent. I’m sure you can take it from here.” She turned her attention to Laura. “Your brother’s outfit is going to be trimmed with purple. I was thinking we could use...” She trailed off when a messenger burst into the drawing room.  
  
“Martin...Carriage...Attacked!” The man tried to get the words out, breathing hard. He must have ran the whole way here. “King...wants you...in the...throne room.”  
  
The queen dismissed the tailor, and they all went to the throne room, Derek still in his half finished suit. The king was looking particularly gleeful, a glint of excitement in his eyes.  
  
“The Martin’s carriage was attacked. Princess Lydia was taken by the evil Count Peter the Undead!”  Peter had been a member of the Hale family, until he was exiled after attempting to kill his brother, he was killed but had been brought back to life, unfortunately. His lands were to the southeast, through the thickest and most dangerous part of the Argent Forest.  
  
The queen nodded, smiling. “Of course, all of the best love stories start with a damsel in distress, and being stuck with Peter would be distressing! And then, the handsome and brave prince courageously braves the most perilous journey, fraught with danger, to rescue her. There is no way the Princess wouldn’t love you after that.” She told her son.  
  
“Great.” Derek said sarcastically. He would ask if he has to go, but he can tell by his parent’s faces that the answer is yes.  
  
“Is this wise?” Laura asked. “Sending him through the Argent Forest alone?” She might think her brother is inept, sure, but she didn’t want him to go and get himself killed.  
  
“He won’t be alone, the knights will go with him.” Her father said, and honestly this did nothing to assuage Laura’s fears. Derek as a leader was ineffective and everything would fall apart as soon as they got into the forest. The king nodded. “Son, ready your knights, you should leave at first light tomorrow.”  
  
Derek and Stiles began walking back toward the drawing room to retrieve his regular clothes. “Are you going to miss me while I’m off saving princesses?” Derek asked hoping that Stiles anger from this morning had dissipated.  
  
“No.” Oh. Derek tried not to look disappointed. “I’m going with you.”  
  
Derek looked up at Stiles in surprise. “Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous.”  
  
“Of course,  If I’m not there to protect you, you would probably get yourself killed.” Derek laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement and Stiles grinned.  
  
****  
  
“This is ridiculous!” Laura growled. She had waited to rant until they had gotten back to her bedroom, which Erica thought took incredible control, considering how angry she was.  
  
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” Erica asked.  
“I guess nothing, but what I should do is go alone and rescue the princess by myself. That would show them. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean that I can’t rescue princesses and fight.”  
  
“I could go with you.” Erica offered.  
  
“What?” Laura looked at Erica in confusion.  
  
“If you wanted to do that, I could go with you. There are only two of us, so we would move faster than the knights. We could disguise ourselves if needed, and we could go and save Princess Lydia.”  
  
“You would do that with me? Why?”    
  
“Because I want to be a knight, and I can’t because I’m a woman.” Erica replied.  
  
“So, you want to do this?” Erica nodded. “Well then, let’s get to work.”  
  
*****  
  
Deaton was reading when Stiles entered his quarters. “Stiles? What can I do for you?” Deaton was the court physician and one of the only people who knew about Stiles’ magic.  
  
After Peter rose from the dead and a sorceress put a spell on the royal family, the king was understandably wary of magic, and had banned it from the kingdom, punishable by death. Fortunately, Stiles hadn’t completely come into his magic by the time the law was decreed, and Stiles had been successful so far in keeping it hidden.  
  
“Derek is going to rescue Princess Lydia tomorrow, and I wanted to get some potions, just in case.”  
  
“Oh, well, be careful.” Deaton warned. “Don’t let anyone see you using it.” Stiles nodded, he knew that he couldn’t tell anyone. His job was to take care of Derek, keep him safe. And he wouldn’t have anyone keeping him from it.


End file.
